For filling containers with liquids, it is well-known to use a so-called "bottom-up" filler technique in order to eliminate the build-up of foam. In this technology, either the filler nozzle is lowered into the container and then raised during the filling operation, or the container is lifted around the filler nozzle and then lowered during the filling operation, with the two separating at a rate commensurate with the flow rate of the liquid.
When it is the container which is lifted and then lowered, it has been customary to employ either a vacuum system wherein a vacuum cup on the end of a vertical actuator engages the bottom surface of the container, or a system wherein a cross bar is mounted on the end of the vertical actuator, without a vacuum cup.
The vacuum cup or the cross bar typically are mounted on the upper end of a stem connected to the end of an air cylinder piston. A satisfactory vacuum arrangement is shown and described in McDonald et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,665.
Various cam arrangements are also known for lifting a container from a shelf or conveyor to accommodate bottom-up filling thereof as the container is lowered from around a filler nozzle, for example, Dolley et al U.S. Pat. No. 594,257; Geyer U.S. Pat. No. 1,993,367; Saeta U.S. Pat. No. 2,100,359; Saeta U.S. Pat. No. 2,142,257; Bridge U.S. Pat. No. 2,605,948; Lange U.S. Pat. No. 2,896,381; King U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,626; and Stohlquist U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,795.
Of the above referenced patents, only two, namely, Saeta U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,100,359 and 2,142,257 disclose means for changing the lift height to accommodate different size containers. Each includes a crank-disk side-by-side and integral with a single cam, with bolt-receiving apertures at different radii to vary the stroke of a pitman to accommodate different capacity containers.
A prior arrangement for lifting containers to be filled is also known, wherein a plurality of cams are moved laterally relative to a fixed cam follower roller. Also known is an arrangement wherein a container lift arm moves laterally with a cam follower roller relative to a pair of adjacent fixed cams. The lift arm pivots beneath a platform which supports a container to be lifted.